United States President Barack Obama makes a statement to the media as he meets bipartisan leaders of the Senate in the Oval Office to discuss the Supreme Court vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Stevens in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, April 21, 2010. From left to right: The President; U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; and U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy,D-VT, Chairman, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. UPI/Ron Sachs/Pool

Harry Mason Reid (born December 2, 1939) is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.

Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Nevada's 1st congressional district, and served in Nevada local and state government as city attorney of Henderson, a state legislator, Lieutenant Governor, and chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Reid was born in Searchlight, Nevada, the third of the four sons of Inez Orena Jaynes, a laundress, and Harry Vincent Reid, a miner. His paternal grandmother was an English immigrant from Darlston, Staffordshire. Reid's boyhood home had no indoor toilet, hot water or telephone. Searchlight had no high school, so Reid boarded with relatives 40 miles away in Henderson, Nevada to attend Basic High School where he played football, and was an amateur boxer. While at Basic High he met future Nevada governor Mike O'Callaghan, who was a teacher there. Reid attended Southern Utah University and graduated from Utah State University. He then went to George Washington University Law School earning a J.D. while working for the United States Capitol Police.

United Press International is a leading provider of news, photos and information to millions of readers around the globe via UPI.com and its licensing services.

With a history of reliable reporting dating back to 1907, today’s UPI is a credible source for the most important stories of the day, continually updated - a one-stop site for U.S. and world news, as well as entertainment, trends, science, health and stunning photography. UPI also provides insightful reports on key topics of geopolitical importance, including energy and security.

A Spanish version of the site reaches millions of readers in Latin America and beyond.

UPI was founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps as the United Press (UP). It became known as UPI when after a merger with the International News Service in 1958, which was founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst. Today, UPI is owned by News World Communications.